Say When
by RaiStorm
Summary: Sequel to Absolute. Mio and Ritsu fight to keep the secret of their relationship from everyone, especially considering the severity of the Akiyama family. Easier said than done. What will happen if they find out?
1. I've Been Practicin' For Ya, Mon!

I decided to end Absolute where it is because there isn't any reason in keeping it going when the main point of that story is over. So here's the sequel, named after another song by The Fray to stick with the theme. I'm actually planning on another sequel after this one, but don't hold me to that. Haha! Key word: PLANNING.

Anyway... enjoy! :)

* * *

**Chapter 1**

* * *

I don't know all the answers I think that I'll find  
Or have it within the time but it's all that I'll have in mind  
Until I fall away

* * *

Ritsu laced her gloved fingers with Mio's as they lay side by side in Ritsu's back yard, simply enjoying each other's company in the dying light of the evening. They'd returned to the drummer's house after their second week back of school since the blizzard. Mio didn't feel comfortable for them to hang out at the Akiyama residence for the sole reason that her parent's could find out about her relationship with her best friend, and the only grounds on which she was allowing Ritsu to even hold her hand at the Tainaka's was because Satoshi was at a friend's house and Mrs. Tainaka was at work.

They didn't mean to end up sprawled out in the snow. They had originally meant to gather some of the icy stuff for sno-cones (Ritsu's brilliant idea). Which turned out to be an extremely ill-planned one, considering the crippled state of the mastermind. Not surprisingly, Ritsu's crutches couldn't grip an icy patch and they both ended up tangled together in the frigid white fluff. From there, they ended up blushing and mumbling apologies, but neither made a move to get up. They simply lay next to each other, no words spoken. It reminded them of their first snowball fight, the first time they almost kissed, and the first time they began to have suspicions of each other's feelings.

That was _only_ few weeks ago.

For some reason it felt like they'd been together forever. Things haven't changed all that much. They still argue, and the true dynamics of their relationship haven't varied from the norm. The only difference was that both were aware of how the other felt, and only revealed that part of themselves to the other when they were alone.

Ritsu ran her thumb over the back of Mio's hand. The dark-haired girl squeezed her hand back and cuddled up closer to the shorter girl, moving her head to rest on the front of Ritsu's dark blue coat. To anyone who might have seen them, it would seem as if Mio was cold and trying to warm up by moving closer, but Ritsu knew otherwise. This was Mio's way of communicating to her without saying anything, Mio was telling her how much she cared.

She knew it was difficult for the bassist to actually _speak_ her feelings. Heck, even her lyrics were indiscernible, written in riddles so that people couldn't read her. So, small gestures every now and again were enough to show the brunette how much Mio really felt for her.

Suddenly, Ritsu felt soft wetness on her cheek. Mio's lips lingered there for a few seconds before she pulled away and lay her head back down, probably to hide a raging blush. Ritsu was frozen for a second, amber eyes wide and a slight blush adorning her cheeks. This was the first kiss Mio had ever initiated between them. Her features softened into smile as she wrapped her arms around the shy girl and buried her face into the shiny raven locks.

This was the Mio only Ritsu was ever allowed to see.

.

.

.

The next day, Ritsu had insisted that they practice, despite her obvious disability. She had gotten quite used to limping around on crutches, but it didn't diminish the difficulty of getting up the stairs to the clubroom.

"Who thought it was a good freakin' idea to put the clubroom on the second story!" The cripple whined as her friends surrounded her, making sure she didn't stumble.

"I told you we didn't _have_ to practice until you were healed," Mio pointed out, walking a few steps below Ritsu, ready to catch her if she stumbled. "So don't complain since _you_ were the one who insisted we did!"

Ritsu simply growled in response. She _did_ have a point.

The band still didn't know about their relationship, but Mio and Ritsu agreed to keep it hidden until they were absolutely sure they were ready.

It was easier said than done, of course. They had occasional slip ups, but were saved by either Mio's quick thinking or Ritsu's skill at diverting attention.

However, the drummer had a strange feeling their secret wasn't completely theirs.

.

**_Flashback_**

"_Ngh, damn it! I hate crutches!" Ritsu growled as she struggled to sit at her desk. It was homeroom, which meant Sawa-chan was teaching. Which usually meant a certain blonde's attention was focused solely at the front of the class. Today was a different story. "Heck, it even hurts to take a shower because the water burns the scrapes on my sides!"_

"_Geez, could you quit whining for two seconds?" Mio took the crutches from her crippled companion after plopping her books on her desk. She set the devices in question on the floor and out of harms way. "You'd think it was the end of the world, the way you're talking."_

"_Hehehe," Ritsu snickered, "Well, it might as well be! I really took something as simple as walking for granted. How many more weeks of this?"_

_A flicker of guilt flashed over Mio's face before it was swiftly replaced with annoyance. "You know, I haven't heard so much as a thank you for everything I've done for you these passed few days. I've pretty much been you're personal servant!"_

_Ritsu smiled goofily as the mention of the words "personal servant" generated an image of Mio in a maid's outfit in her mind's eye. "Mmm, thank you Mio-chan." She leaned forward teasingly and wagged her eyebrows. Mio just looked at her like she grew an extra head. _

_A gasp startled them both and they turned to see Tsumugi staring at them, eyes wide and hands covering her mouth in shock. There was an awkward silence before Ritsu chuckled nervously._

"_Er… what's wrong, Mugi-chan?" The drummer twisted her head to the sides, searching for anything out of the ordinary. _

_The keyboardist blinked and turned a brilliant red color as she realized the attention was focused on her now. "F-Forgive me! It's nothing!" She apologized a little too loudly; earning weird looks from the students in surrounding desks. _

"_Ok… well, I'm gonna go back to my seat now…" Mio inched backwards awkwardly, eyebrows knitted in confusion._

**_End Flashback_**

**_._**

"Thanks, Mio." She said as the dark-haired girl helped her into the chair. A giggle made Ritsu glance up. Mugi apparently found something amusing with what just transpired.

_It's been like this for the past week and a half! She keeps looking at us all weird and giggling randomly like that. What the heck, Mugi!_

Ritsu gave Mio a pointed look, which she returned with shrug and an expression that said, 'Don't ask me…'

In order to keep the band activities moving, the injured club president decreed that all members were to attempt to write a song. Preferably acoustic, for the percussionist was temporarily out of commission. As they were sharing their (god-awful) lyrics, Ritsu kept running the past few weeks through her memory. She couldn't find anything they did or said that would've "outed" them. They didn't even kiss often, maybe two or three times after the first day back from the ski lodge. And even then, they made sure they were behind closed doors. Sorry… _locked_ doors.

But Mugi's actions as of late were very suspicious, if not a little irritating.

She intended to approach the blonde after practice, but that would involve privacy, something that would be difficult to obtain given her current condition. Mio would surely follow her everywhere, and she didn't want her to freak out if Mugi actually did know their secret. It's not that the blonde wasn't trustworthy… oh no. Ritsu would entrust the keyboardist with that precious piece of information before Yui, or even Azusa. It was just that fact that it _could_ leak out into the world if they weren't extremely careful.

"Hello… Ricchannn… earth to Ricchan…" Yui waved a hand in front of the girl's face.

"Hm! Er… what?" The brunette shook her head and groaned when she realized everyone was staring at her. "Sorry, just spaced out…"

"Oh, well Mugi-chan was just saying her dad said we could come over for dinner tomorrow night since it's not a school night," piped the energetic guitarist. Today was thursday.

"Can you make it? Everyone else has already agreed," Mugi clasped her hands together in anticipation, cerulean eyes sparkling. The brunette glanced at Mio, who gave her a subtle nod.

"Oh, yeah sure! I'll be there!" Ritsu grinned and gave a thumbs up, earning herself a round of smiles from the members of the light music club.

.

.

.

After practice, Ritsu invited Mio over to her house to do homework. Once they were inside, they did more talking than working, as the cripple had shared her suspicions of Tsumugi with her girlfriend on their way home.

"So, what if she has something planned?" Mio inquired nervously as she attempted to motivate her companion into trying to do the math on her own instead of copying hers. "Like she's going to announce her support for us or something like that! Oh my God, Ritsu!"

"Hey… hey. I don't think she'll go _that_ far. I mean… we don't even _know_ if she knows, right? It's just… ya know… speculation?" The brunette tried to reason, but she didn't quite know whom she was trying to convince. "Besides… she would've asked us beforehand to make sure it would be alright. I'm sure of it."

"B-But… you know, sometimes she has those occasional moments of unpredictability. You never know!" The grey-eyed girl was beginning to freak out, just as Ritsu had predicted. "What if-"

"Miooo…. We don't know if anything like that is going to happen," The drummer sighed. "It could just be an innocent invitation to dinner… wait! Didn't Yui say her dad invited us? Could he be involved in this conspiracy!"

"Well, not exactly. He just gave her permission."

"Hm… but why bring him up at all? Sounds fishy to me… if not a little creepy," Ritsu rubbed her chin in thought as Mio began to hyperventilate.

"What are going to do? We already said we'd be there, we can't just _not_ go!"

"You're right. We have to go, but we need a game plan!"

"Uh… ok. What's the game plan, then?"

"Er, well…" Ritsu paused and scratched her head. "Oh! Deny 'till we die."

Mio deadpanned. "Wow."

"Well, what else can we do?" The brunette explained, "If we say something to her and she _didn't_ already know, then we just screwed ourselves over. But if we don't say anything we're at her mercy!"

Mio made a scared sound that was somewhere between a gasp and a whimper. In all honesty, Ritsu kind of wanted the others to know. She felt like she was lying to her best friends by keeping them in the dark. But she would fight for secrecy as long as Mio wanted it to remain so.

However, a few weeks in and she was already tired of it. Then again, she was never revered for her patience.

"Maybe we... ugh, no that wouldn't work... or what if... no..." Mio was murmuring to herself, desperate to come up with anything that would keep them from being outed tomorrow night.

"I'm telling you, I don't think she's actually going to say anything. Maybe she just wants us all to hang out together since our vacation was cut a little short, that's all," Ritsu suggested. Maybe sharing her thoughts with Mio wasn't such a great idea, she was just going to worry herself into a puddle. "And if she does say anything, I'll take care of it. So don't worry!"

Mio glanced at her warily. "What do you mean by, 'I'll take care of it...'"

It took the brunette a second to figure out what Mio meant. "Oh! Geez, I'm not gonna beat Mugi-chan up or anything, Mio-chan! What do you take me for!"

The dark-haired girl sighed in relief. "Well, with you... I never know."

"No respect... I get no respect..."

"It was a legitimate concern!"

"Me beating up one of the sweetest people in existence? I can't believe you think of me that way!" Ritsu lamented in a dramatic manner, throwing her hands up to the heavens as if asking "why!"

"I don't, but again, with you sometimes I really _don't _know..." Mio was chuckling now, and Ritsu jumped for joy on the inside because she succeeded in making her distressed girlfriend laugh.

"But there's no fun in predictability, Mio-chan," The brunette dragged her hands down her face in mock exasperation.

"That doesn't make me feel better. Tomorrow is going to be very unpredictable."

"Don't worry, be happy now... oooh-oh-oh-ooooh-ooh-oh-" Ritsu sang and snapped her fingers to the reggae beat of the song playing in her head. Mio watched in silence as the snapping became a groove played out on the table with a pencil and an eraser. The drummer paused for a moment to take a puff from an imaginary blunt and continued singing, causing Mio to burst out in giggles.

"Hey, you're singing isn't that bad!" Mio said in surprise between bouts of laughter. Ritsu paused again and gave a wink and a grin.

"I've been practicin' for you, mon."

* * *

Some parts are kind of silly, but I think it balances it out a bit. Sorry for mistakes, just let me know if you see any because I didn't proofread very well.

What's going to happen at Mugi's house tomorrow? Stay tuned to find out! ;)


	2. Words Like Violence

Gosh, writing this sequel is more fun than writing the original! Mio has become a very interesting character for me to write.

Episode 12 of K-ON! was epic haha. It was funny that Ritsu seemed to be the calm one for once. XD

Anyone know how many episodes will be in season 2?

I'm babbling... enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 2**

* * *

_All I ever wanted_  
_All I ever needed_  
_Is here in my arms_  
_Words are very unnecessary_  
_They can only do harm_

* * *

Not many people understood Mio's seemingly irrational fears about coming out, but it all came from the roots. Not to say Mio didn't love her parents, she did, but as a family they often became frustrated with the, what would seem to others, somewhat strained bouts communication. It was almost as if she was a foreign object, almost like they were afraid if they said or did the wrong thing, they would hurt her.

It was almost as if they loved her too much.

So they raised her very strictly, fearing that she would stray onto the wrong path if they were too lax.

Tomio Akiyama rubbed his eyes as he finished the final chapter of the novel he'd been reading for weeks. It had a disappointing ending. However, he had picked it up on a recommendation from a coworker. Tomio was a businessman who was often away on long trips, but was home tonight for a rare change. He was intelligent and reserved, with dark hair and eyes, and had a very "cut-to-the-chase" personality. He came from a very large and powerful family, deeply entrenched in old traditions of honor and discipline. And even though he didn't force those ways upon his daughter, he made sure she understood the concepts so that when family reunions came along, she wouldn't bring dishonor to the Akiyama clan.

Yumi Akiyama was almost asleep next to him. She worked part-time at a pharmacy and was an excellent cook. She was a very hard-worker and never tolerated any form of laziness. Her family used to be extremely poor, but through hard work and perseverance, managed to create a name for themselves. She was wise beyond her years and was respected by everyone she came into contact with.

"Yumi, do you know if Mio has gone to bed yet?" Tomio inquired, rousing his wife from semi-consciousness. She didn't answer, but simply shrugged her shoulders, not even bothering to open her eyes. Tomio grunted as he moved out of bed and walked silently down the hall. He paused just in front of his daughter's door and listened for any sounds that would signal that she was indeed awake. Hearing the quiet murmurs of Mio's soft voice, he knocked on the door.

"Come in," she called. Tomio peeked inside. Mio was at her old wooden desk in the corner, doing homework and talking on the phone.

"Hm… now how can you concentrate on your studies properly while talking on the phone at the same time?" He teased his hard-working daughter.

"Oh, no I'm finished! I was just helping a friend with a math problem," she shook her head and whispered a barely audible, "I'll talk to you later," into the receiver. She set it down with a click.

"I see. Who were you helping?"

"Ritsu," She didn't try to hide it; she assisted the academically challenged girl all the time. Whether she wanted to or not.

"Oh, you're still hanging out with her?" he asked in a slightly surprised tone. Mio gave him a confused look.

"Um… yeah. I haven't- yeah," the dark-haired girl was thrown off by such a question. When had they stopped hanging out? "Why do you ask?"

"It's nothing. I just think you could find friends that… could offer to help _you_ in your studies. You do too much to help those in need that you forget about yourself sometimes." He pressed, but he realized it was fruitless. Mio and Ritsu were attached at the hip. But for the life of him, he couldn't understand why. That hyperactive girl was not good for his daughter. She was too lazy and dependent, not to mention unbearably loud and obnoxious. Mio was almost the polar opposite. Their friendship was a mystery to him.

"I have other friends, dad. And I go to them often for help when I need it," Mio said calmly, but there was a strange, dark undertone in her voice that he'd never heard before.

"I see… well I just wanted to make sure I saw you before I left for Tokyo tomorrow. I have to leave really early so set your alarm clock. I won't be able to wake you up like I usually do," Truthfully, Mio always woke up on her own, but she often rested in bed for a few moments every morning until her father knocked on her door, signaling breakfast time. She wasn't quite sure why she did that. Maybe it was just habit nowadays, or simply part of the routine.

"Ok dad." She yawned as he moved to close the door.

"Good night, Mio."

As soon as she heard to door click closed, the grey-eyed teen sighed. Her father meant well, he truly did.

"Night… yeah, love you too…"

.

.

.

She almost slept through her alarm in the morning. It was strange, even though her father made sure to remind her that he wouldn't be there in the morning to wake her up, she still almost overslept. Maybe it was lack of routine. Or maybe lack of sleep.

Today was doomsday. Either Mugi was going to out them, or she wasn't. Part of her wanted desperately to ask the blonde herself, simply to put ease to her troubled mind. But Ritsu was right; it wasn't worth the risk. What was she supposed to say?

'Oh gee, Mugi. You weren't planning to make any special announcements tonight were you? …Like what you ask? Oh, I don't know. Nothing like how Ritsu and I are… gay lovers or something crazy like that, hehe. Because that would be totally not true, pfft.'

Nope, she couldn't. Even _imagining_ herself saying something like that was difficult.

Suddenly, she heard her phone vibrate on the nightstand next to her bed. She flipped it open and saw it was from Ritsu.

'Hey, where you at? o_O'

Forgetting to be annoyed at the bad grammar of the text, she whipped her head around to check the clock. 8:07 a.m. School started at 8:30.

_Oh dammit! I forgot, Ritsu has to leave early for school because of her leg! Ngh, I have to hurry!_

Mio was a blur as she raced through her bedroom, throwing on her uniform and swiftly running a brush through her slightly tangled locks. After almost tumbling down the stairs and grabbing a piece of fruit from the kitchen counter, she darted out the door. Her mother didn't so much as lift her gaze from her crossword puzzle and mumbled a 'have a good day, honey,' that fell to a silent house.

It usually took Mio and Ritsu about ten minutes to walk to school after meeting at the small convenient store that served at a halfway point between their houses. However, because of a certain disability, it now took them twice as long. They were probably going to be late this morning.

As soon as the dark-haired girl spotted the brunette a few dozen yards away, she put the afterburners on her already sprinting pace.

"Whoa there, tiger!" Ritsu laughed as Mio skidded to a halt in front of her, hands on her knees and unable to speak from exhaustion. Grey eyes rolled in exasperation.

"I should've… known you… wouldn't be… worried about being… late." She panted, realizing it would've been easier to walk. It was a good thing she left her bass at school yesterday, or she would've probably passed out from the extra weight.

"Sometimes, it's like you don't even know me," Ritsu sighed dramatically as she limped down the sidewalk. Mio fell into stride beside her. The taller girl glanced down at Ritsu's cast. It was a bittersweet symbol. She still blamed herself heavily for causing the drummer the pain of a broken leg and the complications that came with it. She was sure Ritsu missed her drum set. Mio knew she would feel completely _awful_ of she couldn't play her bass for six weeks.

Then again, it was also the reason they were more than friends now. If Ritsu hadn't chased her through that blizzard, they wouldn't be together, and their friendship would probably still be strained.

The cast not only donned Mio's signature, but pretty much everyone in Sawa-chan's class signed the hardened plaster, including Sawa-chan.

"Mio…"

"Hm?"

"You kinda went quiet for a second," her breath was becoming slightly labored for the effort of hopping on crutches. "You ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking about stuff."

"If you're worried about tonight, don't be. Whatever happens will happen, we can't control it, so there's no point in fretting over it," Ritsu seemed to try her hand at philosophy. Mio's eyes widened in disbelief.

"How can you take this so lightly? You do know that _no one_ can know about us, right?" The bassist lowered her voice to a harsh whisper. "Ritsu, you _do_ understand that… right!"

The shorter girl was taken aback for a moment. "Uh, yeah of course I do. But what do you want me to do about it?"

"Well, I assumed you had _something_ planned. Yesterday you said you'd take care of it if Mugi tried to 'out' us," Mio was close to tears now as fear crept through her veins. Her hands were shaking now. The steady clicking of the crutches hitting the pavement ceased. Mio looked up.

"You're right, I did say that…but that's only to save us if she _does_ say something, not to prevent it from happening. Look at me, Mio-chan," Ritsu pleaded, Mio obeyed.

"I know we've already kind of talked about this, but how long are we going to lie to our friends? I don't like the way it makes me feel," Ritsu confessed, searching Mio's stone-colored eyes with her own fiery ones. "We are a lot of things, Mio-chan, but we aren't liars."

Mio dropped her gaze, slightly ashamed. "Ritsu, you know why no one can know. My parents would tear us apart. Do you want that to happen?"

"How do you _know_? Have they told you how they felt about same-sex relationships?"

"No… it never comes up."

"Well ask them! What's the worst that can happen if you just ask their opinion?" Ritsu's tone was becoming slightly frustrated. Mio sighed and glanced at her watch. 8:28.

"Ah! We're late! C'mon, we have to get going," The dark-haired girl nodded in the direction of the school. The shorter girl dropped her head in defeat and limped back into motion.

"This conversation isn't over, just letting you know."

Mio shot her a look that was halfway between guilt and exasperation, and continued to walk a few steps ahead of the drummer. The rest of the short journey to school was completed in a tense, loaded silence.

"Ah, how good of you to join us, Akiyama-san, Tainaka-san," Sawako clasped her hands together and smiled a tad too sweetly. Now that they knew her true personality, her façade of innocent schoolteacher did not have the same effect on them as it did other students. They were quite aware of the aura of irritation pulsing from the barely sane woman.

"Ehehe… sorry Sawa-ch, erm, sensei. I had an issue with my crutches and an icy patch on the sidewalk," Ritsu glanced at Mio, who had her head bowed with an unreadable expression. "And we got held up…"

A round of sympathetic "aw's" filled the room, and Ritsu ducked her head and blushed slightly, forcing an embarrassed grin on her face. Mio still kept her face hidden.

Sawako sighed. "I guess it can't be helped. Take a seat, please."

Mio, avoiding questioning glances from Yui and Mugi, took a seat at her desk without offering Ritsu any kind of assistance like she usually did.

The rest of the day was somewhat of a blur. Mio was caught up in daydreams and scenarios of could happen tonight at Mugi's house. Her anxiety was building up to the point of bursting, the nagging burden fear following her like a shadow, waiting for a chance to overtake her completely.

_I can't lose her. I can't lose her._ Was the mantra she chanted over and over in her head. If they came out tonight, surely her parents would hear it through the grapevine. Surely the would take drastic measures to ensure the termination of their relationship.

Mio felt many mixed emotions. Their relationship was new, and it wasn't perfect like it was in the movies, but something told her that if she could never see Ritsu again, something inside of her would break. It felt as if her heart was held together by a small thread. Any kind of abrupt change or any twinge of pain would let loose a tidal wave of heartache.

_Am I being selfish?_

Mio thought about Ritsu's feelings. She was right, lying to her friends was painful, but surely it was a small price to pay? The brunette girl was Mio's world. But it was a double-edged sword when two desires conflicted. On one hand, hurting Ritsu anymore was the last thing Mio wanted, but on the other hand… losing her would be worse, right?

The dismissal bell tore her from her destructive thoughts.

_Ok, Ritsu wanted me to come over as soon as I got changed for Mugi's, which is at six p.m. It is now three. I'll go home, get changed, and head over to Ritsu's by three forty-five. That means I'll get there by four. _

Mio tended to plan very meticulously when she was nervous.

_Oh man. She's probably going to want to talk about… ugh. Why does this have to be so hard? Why can't we just be happy for a while?_

The bassist decided to wear a simple light blue blouse and a white skirt. After running a brush through her hair and placing a blue barrette just above her ear, she was out the door again. Her mother practically in the same spot she occupied that morning, only this time with the novel her father was reading earlier. "Have a good time, dear."

"Love you, too, mom…" She mumbled to herself bitterly as she scurried down the sidewalk. _Why can't they just say it?_ _Mrs. Tainaka practically smothers Ritsu with those words. I rarely hear them, and I have _twice_ the opportunities to. _

"Mio-chan! How nice to see you!" Reina Tainaka beamed at the teen standing at her door. Satoshi took after his mother much more than Ritsu did appearance-wise. She had dark hair that fell just below her shoulders, and deep brown eyes that were always full of energy and kindness. Personality-wise, she was a calmer, wiser, _slightly_ more patient version of her lively daughter.

"Hello, Tainaka-san. Good to see you, too," Mio bowed her head in a respectful manner and smiled sweetly.

"Oh, stop being so formal, Mio-chan! How long have you known me? C'mon now…" Reina flicked her wrist as if swatting an annoying fly. The action reminded her of Ritsu.

"S-Sorry… um, Ritsu wanted me to come over before we went to the Kotobuki's, so…" Mio said, rocking back and forth on her heels.

"Oh yes! She mentioned something of the like. C'mon in," She stepped aside to allow the raven-haired girl enter her home. "She's in her room."

Luckily, Ritsu's bedroom was on the first floor, so she didn't have to worry about braving the stairs on crutches. Mio practically skipped down the hall, suddenly a little giddy to see her secret love, regardless of the demon of fear stalking her every move.

The door was ajar so she simply let herself in. Ritsu was lying in her bed reading what looked to be a manga. But as soon as Mio entered her head shot up.

"Mio!" the cripple smiled, and the room brightened a fraction.

"Hey, Ritsu," Mio returned the smile, and the rift between them was temporarily cast aside. The brunette opened her arms wide and gave Mio an expectant look.

"What?" The bassist cocked an eyebrow, unsure of what Ritsu wanted.

"Hug me."

"…Huh?"

"You heard me! How come we never hug when we see each other? Not even when we were…" she glanced at the closed door before lowering her voice to a whisper, "…just friends."

Mio sighed, honestly that thought never occurred to her. Blatant affection was never her forte… but then again, it wasn't her fault. However, the amber-eyed girl had a point. They _were_ together; they should act like it every once in a while.

"Fine…" Mio moved towards the bed and allowed herself to be enveloped in Ritsu's warm embrace. She wrapped her own arms around the shorter girl's waist and breathed in her scent. It was subtle, just a hint of tangerine, probably from her shampoo. Mio felt safe.

_This is home._ She thought as she smiled into Ritsu's shoulder.

"Hehe, that tickles…" The drummer giggled, releasing the taller girl. Mio, smile still in place, sat on the bed next to her. Ritsu laid her head in Mio's lap, taking a deep breath as she did so.

Mio ran her fingers through brown locks, her mind wandering to back at the cave; the infamous cave that sent them spiraling into an emotional storm.

"So, we should talk," Ritsu didn't open her eyes as she cut right to the chase. Mio didn't answer right away, but continued to stroke the drummer's hair.

"Yeah."

Neither of them wanted to talk about this, but it was a necessary evil.

"Tell me, Mio… tell me exactly what you think would happen if you told your parents about us," Amber pierced gently into silver.

Mio had to think about that for a second.

"Um… well I think they'd deny it at first, you know. They'd pretend I never said anything. But then, after a while they'd realize I wasn't joking and begin to get angry. Really angry." The dark-haired girl bit her lower lip. "They always get what they want, Ritsu. Always. My opinion never truly mattered in their eyes."

"What would they do?"

"They'd threaten to transfer me to a different school if I didn't break it off with you… most likely. If they even _thought_ we were still talking they wouldn't hesitate to send me away. They would be on me like hawks. Ritsu… I'm almost one-hundred percent positive about this."

Ritsu didn't say anything for a long time. A noise-less void permeated the air and made it thick with tension.

Finally, a slightly hoarse murmur sliced the air.

"…I don't have the answer," she whispered with some difficulty. "Mio, this time I don't have the answer." The sorrow and regret choked heavily in her voice.

"…We're trapped, aren't we?"

Silence.

* * *

_Words are meaningless_  
_And forgettable_

* * *

.

.

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Hmm... tell me what you think. :O

Mio's relationship with her parents is complex to say the least. If you don't understand, PM me... though I may have difficulty explaining it myself! They mean well, honestly, but somehow their efforts (or lack there of) seem to flop.

I meant to get to Mugi's house this chapter, but it seems I've gotten sidetracked! Oh well, just wait until next chapter. I'm not going to alternate POV's like I did in Absolute, it's going to be more erratic. The POV thing kind of boxed me in, if you know what I'm sayin'.

And if you don't know the song I used, then you live under a rock. A rock that is void of any good music. Good day.


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